Keep Your Eyes to Yourself
Creating Body Awareness
Sweat begins to drip from my stiff arms in Warrior 1. My hamstrings smell like bacon from all of the cooking and holding we're doing. And why does that one girl in the front have a smile on her face and look like she's attending a spa day. What am I doing wrong? Why doesn't my yoga look like hers? Ouch! I think I just pulled a muscle. Recently, the New York Times released an article entitled "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body." This was a spin off a highly regarded yoga teacher's new book launch. First, let's answer the main question - Can yoga hurt you? Yes, but also note that picking up your laundry basket, walking down a flight of stairs and joining in a pick-up game of basketball can also hurt you. If you lack awareness of what you are doing, you can harm yourself.
No one will ever know your body better than yourself. What feels good to one person may bring tears to another. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Some yogis are blessed with open hips while others enjoy a flexible and bendy spine. Do not get frustrated that your body is unwilling to be in a posture today. It can take days, weeks, months and yes, years before you feel that certain "Aha" moment.
Listen and honor your body. During your next yoga practice, take the time to really listen to your body. Notice the breath while you are holding an asana (pose). Is it shallow and rapid or long and tranquil? How should you adjust your body to slow the breath? That could mean coming down to your knee in a pose or not bending as far. Next, scan the body for any tension. Do you feel stress in your low back while pressing up into cobra, or did you skip cobra and race into upward facing dog? Come back and take the pose from its roots feeling each krama (stage) as you progress.
As a teacher and former beginner student, I know the urge to want to "do it right" and quickly progress to higher levels. Yoga at its core is about connecting the mind and the body. Knowing when to push and when to back off is honoring your body. Letting your eyes gaze over to another mat and following another student's practice is not. I encourage everyone to remember a time when they were just learning something new - riding a bike, learning a foreign language or setting up a Facebook account. Understand the little steps you took to finally achieve the task at hand. Now, take that approach with your yoga practice. Break down a pose; start from the bottom and work your way up. Already at the top? Go back and revisit each stage. I'm positive you'll enjoy a new experience throughout the body.
Stay safe, and always remember to listen. You're likley to be right!
